Dr. Kahl on Remaining Challenges in Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Brad S. Kahl, MD, a medical oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center and a professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, discusses remaining challenges in the indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL) treatment landscape.

Although ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and PI3K inhibitors induce a median progression-free survival of about 1 year in patients with iNHL, there is room for improved efficacy, says Kahl.

As such, future research efforts should focus on identifying additional therapies that elicit more durable responses, Kahl explains.

Notably, bispecific monoclonal antibodies that target CD3 on T cells and CD20 on B cells are currently being evaluated in iNHL. These molecules bring the T and B cells into proximity, allowing the T cells to kill the neoplastic B cells, Kahl concludes.